The South Africans announced themselves to the world in England as a team to be taken seriously in future.
The Springbok women’s team bowed out of the World Cup in England on Saturday but not before giving multiple title-holders New Zealand a big scare and announcing themselves as a team to be reckoned with in future.
Swys de Bruin’s Bok women lost 46-17 to the Black Ferns in their first ever quarter-finals appearance at a Women’s World Cup, but they more than matched their opponents in a strong first half, changing sides at 10-all.
They also won the hearts of the watching world with their never-say-die attitude and good wins in pool play against Brazil and Italy. The Bok women entered the World Cup as the 12th best team in the world, and they left inside the top eight.
‘No fluke’
“What a performance by this team, coming into the tournament ranked 12th in the world and leaving it as one of the top eight sides,” said De Bruin.
“To add to that, to deliver such a great first half against the Black Ferns proved that it was no fluke, it showed that this team is here to stay and could be the sleeping giant of the women’s game.”
De Bruin added his side had to try a few “unconventional things” against the New Zealanders in Exeter on Saturday.
“We did some unconventional things today yes, but we had to try and think out of the box a bit,” said De Bruin.
“Our two player lineout, followed by a 15 player lineout, certainly had New Zealand baffled and we could score two very good tries against them in the first half.
“Unfortunately, we conceded three quick tries after the break and the game got away from us, but this team refused to stop fighting and added another try, which was yet another milestone for us.
‘We left nothing out there’
“Off the field, the players did really well and it is such a blessing to be part of this team and their journey. A lot of good things came at this World Cup and the amount of messages of support was incredible. They certainly won the hearts of many.”
Captain Nolusindiso Booi said it was a performance everyone will be proud of.
“We really had them confused at the end of the first half with our tactics,” said Booi.
“The quality team they are, they did outplay us in the second half and deserved to win, but I know we left nothing out there and every player should be proud of what they did out there today.”
